Inset: Billie Jo Tustin (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The home where Tustin allegedly threw her infant (WSYX).
A 30-year-old mother in Ohio has been arrested after she allegedly threw her 9-month-old child across a room, leaving the infant in critical condition.
Billie Jo Tustin was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of felonious assault resulting in serious harm to the victim, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Emergency medical personnel with the Columbus Division of Fire at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday responded to the family’s home in the 900 block of North 4th Street, in the Italian Village neighborhood, in connection with an unresponsive infant, The Columbus Dispatch reported, citing court records.
Upon arriving at the address, first responders located the boy and rushed him to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for treatment. The infant was admitted to the facility in “extremely” critical condition, local CBS affiliate WBNS reported.
The hospital staff reportedly said the child’s injuries were “not consistent with an accident” and contacted law enforcement.
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Officers with the Columbus Division of Police at about 6:30 p.m. that evening responded to the family’s home after being notified about the child being severely injured in a “suspicious” incident. At the home, police said there were several adults as well as a toddler who did not appear harmed.
In a criminal complaint obtained by local ABC and Fox affiliate WSYX, Tustin allegedly admitted to police that she threw the child across a room measuring approximately 15 feet. The infant reportedly landed on his head and suffered numerous traumatic injuries.
Tustin also reportedly confessed to throwing the child shorter distances multiple times, spanking him, and even slapping him in the face, saying she did so when she got frustrated. In fact, police said in an incident report that the victim’s injuries were so serious that the department’s homicide unit was charged with investigating the incident.
Tustin is currently being held in the James A. Karnes corrections center without bond. She is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment at Franklin County Municipal Court on Sept. 19, court recrods show.
The child remained in critical condition and was on life support, a police spokesperson told WSYX.
“We’re not sure if he’s going to pull through, so we want to make sure we are doing everything we can, if this is in fact a crime scene, that we figure out exactly what happened,” Sgt. James Fuqua told the station.
